Rogue One TV Spot Declares It's Time to Fight

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story has hit its marketing stride, as the latest wave of marketing materials has struck a significantly stronger chord with audiences.

The new approach to the sell for Disney and Lucasfilm's first Star Wars standalone movie has been stoking the flame of rebellion - a message that no doubt resonates more than ever with many people. The latest TV spot doesn't even bother being subtle about it: it's called "Time to Fight" and if it doesn't make you want to grab a blaster and/or lightsaber and go fight an evil empire somewhere (they're apparently all the rage, these days), then nothing will.

As of the latest forecasts, Rogue One will open big, with estimates going as high as $130 million. If this first Star Wars standalone film does big business, there's even word that standalones could replace the Skywalker saga (aka the "Episodes").

There has always been tremendous opportunity in taking the Star Wars universe in new and varied directions; to be honest, however, Rogue One's finished version looks much different than the darker war film director Gareth Edwards pitched early on in production, retaining much of the same lighter tone and spirit of your standard Star Wars movie. It all begs the question of when the brand will reach that inevitable point that Marvel Studios did: needing to truly vary their films according to different genre tropes (sci-fi, comedy, political thriller, etc...).

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Rouge One: A Star Wars Story will be in theaters on December 16, 2016. Star Wars: Episode VIII will be in theaters on December 15, 2017. The Han Solo Standalone Film will be released on May 25, 2018. Star Wars: Episode IX will be in theaters on May 23, 2019.